Ozstory – an anthology of all things Oz. Features many illustrations by Eric Shanower, the best of the modern Oz artists.

Wicked –

The original novel

The Broadway musical

Thanks to Maya for mentioning it. Haven’t read it myself. It seems to be primarily inspired by the MGM movie rather than the original novel. (Though, of course, it must claim the novel as inspiration because the novel is in public domain while the movie is not.) I think I’ve got it on my shelves somewhere. I looked for it yesterday but didn’t have any luck.

The Twisted Land of Oz or MacFarlane’s Magic Torture Show. (With bonus winged monkeys and Munchkin!

Just because I link to it doesn’t me I’m endorsing it. I don’t care for these plastic bits. The website is certainly slick. A lot of craftsmanship has gone into making them but they’re just … icky. And what’s the point of this perversity?

From the Armchair Empire review –

“If this was Hell, Dorothy would be its queen… and she would rule the kingdom.”

 

“Her secret was out; the bondage freed her in ways she simply hadn’t imagined.”

 

But it does finally explain why the characters are sculpted they way they are.  I grappled with the idea of spoiling the ending of the story in this review.  Do I?  Don’t I?  Yes, I will as the Wizard may be the least sought figure therefore the answers will never be known by casual action figure fans.  So, here we are with the quick explanations: in a past life the Lion was a Crusader that turned tail and left his buddies in a lurch, the Tin Woodman was “in a previous existence… a sickly doctor who removed the limbs of healthy patients with an ax,” the Scarecrow was an Inquisitor who performed “unique” craniotomies, Dorothy was secretly into bondage, and Toto?  Toto wasn’t guilty of anything, he was simply “corrupted” by that fresh OZ air.  And the Wizard?  If you can’t tell, he’s the devil.

The Empire also has reviews of some of the other figures.

And then I found these nifty upgrades over at Slap Happy North’s Big Honkin’ Custom Page of Fun. These I’d like to own.

What’s the difference between the originals and the rebuilds? The originals are mass market bad taste. The rebuilds are personalized bad taste. Somehow that makes it all right.

The Black Seal’s website has updated in anticipation of publication of issue #3. Go to the contributor’s page to find the portraits I did of the various writers and artists who worked on this issue. Click on the portraits if you want to see larger versions.

Amusingly enough, there are no entries for Grant Emerson or Chloe Summerfield. I originally did their portraits on a whim (they are notoriously camera shy) and then volunteered to do portraits for everyone else. I think Chloe’s article may have gotten cut but I know Grant’s report is still planned for publication. Odd.

(And yes, Nick is right, he is better looking than I drew him. Assuming, of course, that those were actually photographs of him rather than his young and virile “ward”.)

The Shiny Green Paperweight of Oz.

The Emerald Burrito of Oz. I loved this book. Go read it.

And for a bonus today – an interview with the authors.

Today we have Bill Bryan’s webpage. Bryan was the artist for “the other Oz comic”. It was a series of series and one-shots – Oz, Dark Oz, Land of Oz being the series.

I’d never actually read any of it until this morning. I finally pulled my copy of Oz: Mayhem in Munchkinland (a collection of the first five issues of the first series) off my shelf and took the time to give it a read.

It’s obvious that Bryan had a great time drawing it. His art is full of energy. Bryan has trouble with anatomy and controlling his lines. The art seems rushed and unfocused. As a result most of the characters look lumpy and unfinished.

The story, by Stuart Kerr and Ralph Griffith, about the retaking of Oz after its conquest by the Nome King didn’t do much for me either. Our heroes – a trio of teenagers (Twenty-somethings? I’m not sure. They’re not a well defined group.) and their dog got sucked through a dimensional portal into Oz after opening a mysterious book. They get separated after a Munkin attack. Mary joins up with the Freedom Fighters – a ragtag bunch that includes Jack Pumpkinhead, the Woggle Bug, a Winged Monkey, Jinjur, Tik-Tok and the Hungry Tiger. Pete and Kevin meet the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion and free them from enchantments that have made them Evil.

The series was published from 1994-1999. Not a bad effort for an independent series.

Yeah, yeah, I know. The 24th was yesterday. Big deal. Here we have a brief tribute to the Mechanical Men of Oz from Anina Bennett.

Evil Illuminati in Oz. A description of how The Wizard of Oz is actually a tool of the Satanist Conspiracy to rule the world. Most of the examples described are from the 1939 movie. The site’s author often confuses incidents from the book with incidents from the movie. The author also claims that all 14 Baum novels are rife with occult imagery, symbolism and programing clues. (Baum was apparently a member of the Theosophist Society, and, as such, aware of the Illuminati and their evil rituals.) Oddly, only Ozma of Oz gets a thorough examination. Seems like The Land of Oz with its boy as girl transformation climax would have been ultimately more Satanic.

The Turkish Wizard of Oz. I wonder how well this version syncronizes with Dark Side of the Moon?